Play policy ignores childhood obesity
By JOHNNY CALDWELL
Despite Ulster's growing numbers of fat children, a new Government document, which it is hoped will pave the way for a play policy for children in the Province, doesn't even mention obesity.
Speaking yesterday after launching a consultation paper on A Play Policy for Northern Ireland, Children's Minister Maria Eagle conceded it was far from a blueprint to tackle the chronic condition of children's health in the Province.
She said she hoped the document would lead to an increase in the number of places where children and their parents felt it was safe for them to play, thereby helping overweight children.
"There isn't a section about tackling obesity in it per se but it underlies a lot of what is in there.
"I think just safe play, so children can get in the habit of just running around, interacting with other children and playing outdoors, is an important part of getting children into the habit of not just sitting in front of a TV," she said.
But whilst well-meaning did the Minister not think that a policy on play, or at least a consultation paper on it, was too little too late for Ulster's thousands of obese children, some of whom may even be too heavy for play?
"We do have an increasing incidence of childhood obesity which needs to be tackled," she said.
"We need to make sure our children are more active and that there are safe places for our children to play. One of the reasons why kids are kept indoors is that parents worry about safety," she said.
She said experts claimed this could be the first generation of children to die before their parents due to the predicted level of obesity, which applied as much to Northern Ireland as to other parts of the UK.
25 October 2006
Childhood Obesity in the United Kingdom
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